Improved machine for trimming cue-leathers



ii'nird tendra t @Wina IMPROVE!) MACHINE FOR TRIMMING- CUE-LEATHERS.

The Schnule referred-to in these Letters Patent and making part o! theSame.

To all whom it mwy concern:

Beit kngwn that I, J AMES E. BoYLn, of ANew York city, of NewYorkcounty, in the State of New York,

have invented certain new and useful Machines for Trimming Cue-Leathers;and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,making part of this application.

My invention relates to a new and useful machine or contrivance fortrimming off the leather tips of billiard-cues. K In the preparation ofbilliard-cues a leather tip is glued on to the-end of the stick or cue,generally by means of an adhesive material or wafer, which forms part ofthe tip as supplied by the manufacturer or im-4 porter. These tips orcue-leathers are always larger vin diameter than the end of the cues,and, after having been glued on, and becoming fast, they are cut away,or trimmed down to about the diameter'of the cue, and are thensand-papered and finished up into shape to suit the players.

It has been customary previous tomy invention to thus trim or cut downthe leathers by hand with an ordinary knife, as is well known tobilliard-room keepers and others, and where there lis any considerablenumber of cues to be tipped and trimmed, this cutting of the leathers isa very laborious and timeconsuming operation. l

This process of trimming the tips by hand with a knife is not onlytedious, and requires much time, but in the practice of it, it is almostimpossible to trim the leathers to a perfect circle, conforming to thediameter of the cue, and have them in good shape.

' To overcome the diiiiculties encountered, and provide some economicand eicient means of trimming oi the leathersafter they havebeen gluedto the sticks, ,has long been looked upon as a great desiderf atum, andit has been suggested to perform this trimming operation bymeans of adevice something after the fashion of a pencil-Sharpener; but in.practice it has been found thatwith any such devices as have beentried, the leathers are torn oif from the cues by the strain andpressure of the cutters.

My invention has for its objects to provide ameans for efficientlycutting the leathers down tothe diameter of the stick to which they aresecured, and one by.

which this operation may be expeditiously performed without severing orloosening the tip; and to these ends My invention consists in a machineor apparatus which is composed of a suitable device for exerting apressure upon the tip, to hold it. fastron the stick, and knives orcutters for trimming away the circumference of the tip while it is soheld, as will be hereinafter more fully described.

To enable those skilled in the artto make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe more fully the construction and operation of amachine embodying my invention, referring by letters to the accompanyingdrawings, in whichv Figure 1 isa side view, or elevation of a machine,made according to my invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same; and

Figure 3, a cross-section atx x, g. 2.

In the several figures the same parts are designated bythe same letterof reference.

A represents the bed or base of the machine, which I propose to make ofcast-iron, and in which are formed or secured three stands, B, O, and D,in the first of which, B, are pivoted the vibratory cutter andguidingarms E, and which is formed' with a hole suciently large topermit the ready insertion and withdrawal of the cue F, and whicha'ctsas a guide to the latter, as l clearly seen at fig. 2. l

The stand C is provided with a cap, c', and said stand and cap are cutout, (as seen at iig.' 3,) so as to.

allow the passage of the cue-end, and so las to form slots or guides, inwhich are arranged and Work the cutter-ends of the bars or arms E, andon the stand D is-arranged an adjustable and removable or press--ure-bar, G, which is held in place when adjusted by a thumb-screw, b, asand for purposes to be presently explained.

At the vibratory end of each of the arms E is formedVV or properlysecured 'a knife-edge or cutter-blade, d, as clearly shown, and aroundthe said arms Eis arranged a rubberband, or collar, as seen at j; whichserves to clasp and force toward each other the said arms with a strongspring pressure.

These arms E are pivoted on bolts m in the housings formed in the standB, as clearly shown, and are so formed, (see fig. 2,) that where therubber springcollar f is forced up over them, as seen, they will beforced toward each other, and consequently the knives d, forced againstthe tip o, introduced between them.

When the machine is not lin operation the spring"- collar f is movedalong into the position shown in red in the drawings, that is, -beyondthe shoulder i, and the pressure on the arms vthus taken oli, and thecollar relieved of tension or strain.

The operation of cutting or trimming the tip with the describedapparatus may be thus explained:

The cue, with its leather glued on in the usual manner, is inserted bythe operative through the hole in stand B, and along between the fourarms E, unt-i1 the tip comes between the knives d and but up against thestop or mandrel, as clearly shown in the drawings. The rubber collarbeing adj usted so as to exert its full pressure on the arms E, theoperative forces and holds the cue endwise hard up against the stop, andat the.

same time turns or rotates itin the direction indicated by the arrow infig. 3. As the cue and its tip are thus moved, the cutters or knives dpenetrate and turn or cut off the leather tip, while by the pressure ofthe cue endwise, as described in the direction indicated by the arrow atfig.' 2, the tip is rmly held and clamped between the ends of the stick(to which it is glued) and the stop Gr. The apex of the leather or tipbeing convex, and the bearing surface of the stop being dat and smooth,there is no tendency created practically to displace the leather fromthe cue, and the clamping or pressure exerted on the leather between thestick-end and said stop, tends to and does eifectually insure theretention of theleather on the cue while being cut away on itscircumference by the knives d.

I have thoroughly tested and worked a machine constructed according tomy invention,and have found that a man can trim down into much bettershape .and condition the same number ofcue-tips in one hour than hecould imperfectly trim in the customary way in a whole day.

The knives d may, of course, be made removable, and of ne steel, whilethe arms are made of baser metal.

It will be understood that when the .cue with its tip is introduced intothe machine, the arms E are spread apart, and also the knives (I, andthat when the tip has been cut down to the exact diameter of the cue,the arms E, near the cutters d, come into contact with the wood, and actas stops, so that the knives cannot cut further. By this means it willbe seen the leather will be always cut down to the size of the cnc, nomatter what may be the diameter of the latter, andno matter whether thediameter of the tip exceeds much or little, to start with, the diameterof the stick.

Theobject and advantage of having the stop G adjustablc, are that it maybe set back in the direction indicated by arrows, as one portion of theedges of' the knives wears away, so as to bring another portion into useby allowing the tip to be in a different position, as indicated by thered dotted lines at 'fig.l.

By this means, and having the cutting-faces or edges of knives d prettylong, it will be seen the latter will last a long time before requiringsharpening. By makextricating a tip in the event ofionelcoming on" anddom occur, though it is apt to in case the tip is not properly fastenedto the stick.

In lieu of the four arms and knives, as shown, a different number may ofcoarse be used ,without departing from the spirit of my invention, andVinstead the inverse of this operation may be adopted, or the knives maybe arranged around and connected to the stop or mandrel. It will beunderstoodthat'a great variety-oi` changes may be made in the details ofconstruction and ar, rangement of the devices, and various modicationsadopted, all involving, however, the gistpof my invention, which restsin the idea of combining with the cutting-devices or mechanism, a meansfor clamping the leather ,endwise on the cue while beingcut, as I havehereinbefore explained.

Having fully explained my invention, and described which I have verysuccessfully practised it,

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The employment, in combination with` a cuttingmechanism or device,adapted to cut or shave around the circumference of the leather, of arest or stop-surface, against which the leather may be forced and heldtov insure its retention on the cue while being revolved, substantiallyas set forth.

i In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this 14thday of April, 1869.

,.I. E. BOYLE. [1.. s] Witnesses:

CHAs. A. SCOTT, J. N. MCINTIRE.

ing the stop removable, a ready means is aiorded for lodging between thecutters, which, however, will selvof making t-he knives stationaryandturning the cue,`

the mode in which I propose to carry it out, and in

